Chapter 355
In the end, the approach to the "Golden Elixir Project" was the same: first, clarify the essential principles.
“...Materials science?”
After hearing Zheng Fa's thoughts, the old man Bai blinked and uttered three words.
“Mm.”
Indeed, this matter was closely related to materials science.
If all went well, the Jiu Shan realm would soon have another course!
I wonder how happy the disciples would be...
But Old Bai waved his hand dismissively, saying, “I don’t understand materials science, and we’re not professionals. Let’s find someone named Yang!”
Zheng Fa lifted his gaze towards the horizon beyond Hong Shan and smiled, “Team Leader Yang is already here.”
...
At the foot of the mountain, Team Leader Yang had just hung up the phone.
Her expression was a bit strange.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yun asked curiously.
“The capital has also seen this anomaly.”
“...”
“They said we must let Zheng Fa know our sincerity!”
Cheng Yun opened his mouth, not quite understanding, “What sincerity?”
“Earlier... didn’t someone have some ulterior motives?”
“Isn’t Tang Lingwu...”
Cheng Yun suddenly understood.
“The little girl has a kind heart...” Team Leader Yang sighed, “Just beating someone up, is that enough? Dean Zheng might not care, but we can’t afford to be indifferent.”
Cheng Yun thought for a long time, shook his head, and said nothing more.
“Not just that, about that particle collider, they also said to work overtime, regardless of the cost...”
Cheng Yun looked up at Hong Shan before him.
The anomaly on Hong Shan hadn’t disappeared; standing at the foot of the mountain, he could see every blade of grass, every stone, and every river shimmering with a faint purple light.
When the mythical scene unfolded before his eyes, the turmoil in his heart was truly beyond words.
It was precisely because of this that the words from the phone call felt somewhat humble.
There was a kind of eager, money-burning enthusiasm.
Team Leader Yang sighed again, “Hong Shan... has disappeared from the radar, or rather, aside from the naked eye, any detection methods... have failed against Hong Shan.”
Cheng Yun could completely understand the origin of that phone call...
It seemed they had stood there for too long, and Zheng Fa inside had reacted. Suddenly, clouds and mist rose from the mountain, enveloping the entire Hong Shan in layers of white clouds and light fog, obscuring the anomaly above.
“This...”
This scene, however, added a touch of reverence for both Team Leader Yang and Cheng Yun.
...
As they passed through the mist, they finally arrived at the retirement home nestled deep within the clouds.
The retirement home looked the same, the architecture unchanged, but both of them felt an inexplicable shyness.
“Come in!”
It was still Old Bai waving at them from the courtyard. They took a deep breath and stepped inside.
“Team Leader Yang, you came at just the right time,” Old Bai said cheerfully, “We just discussed it; we can save some costs on that particle collider!”
“Save costs?” Team Leader Yang’s eyes widened as she looked at Old Bai, “No need to save! Not a penny!”
“...”
“Whatever it costs, we’ll pay it! Not a cent should be saved!”
(End of this chapter)
---
Chapter 316: True Nature Revealed, Jiu Shan Agricultural Classics
As soon as Team Leader Yang entered the retirement home, she realized—money wasn’t important!
In front of the main building of the retirement home, there was a quaint little pavilion, planned by Tang Lingwu’s mother.
Zheng Fa was sitting in the pavilion with Tang Lingwu and a few others, sipping tea.
He hadn’t had much time to chat with Tang Lingwu and the others for nearly half a year, and it would take a while to catch up. Moreover, refining the Golden Elixir was indeed a laborious task, and he wanted to take a couple of days to rest.
So today, Zheng Fa was just idly chatting with them.
Sometimes they exchanged a few words, with no particular direction, just speaking whatever came to mind.
At times, they fell into comfortable silence, which felt quite pleasant.
The fatigue and irritability that had weighed on Zheng Fa’s heart had dissipated considerably.
...
Old Bai led Team Leader Yang and Cheng Yun into the little pavilion.
Zheng Fa smiled at them and pointed to the two untouched teacups in front of him.
Team Leader Yang had a whole basket of matters to discuss, but upon seeing Zheng Fa’s face, she felt as if the person before her was both near and far, ethereal and otherworldly.
For a moment, she couldn’t find the words and could only lower her head to take a sip of tea.
As the tea entered her mouth, its fragrance, cool and refreshing, flowed from her tongue into her belly, then drifted and floated, eventually reaching her mind.
It was as if she had grown new ears—she could hear the delicate blossoms slowly opening in the grass outside the courtyard, the gentle breeze sweeping through the treetops in the distance, and the birds in the trees softly arranging their feathers in their nests.
She could hear the tranquility of the sunset illuminating the mountains.
In an instant, all thoughts of the phone call, all responsibilities, and the worries and excitement she had brought with her—vanished.
“What is this...?”
Team Leader Yang gazed at the teacup before her, her mind wandering.
“Rich in spiritual energy, freshly grown spiritual plants,” Teacher Tian smiled and explained, “We call it Wang Ji tea.” (Wang Ji tea: a tea made from spiritual plants that helps with meditation and focus.)
“Wang Ji tea...” Team Leader Yang repeated the name, nodding and sighing, “To forget one’s worries, a celestial abode...”
Beside her, Cheng Yun nodded along, but his expression was rather unremarkable.
Zheng Fa was quite pleased with the tea as well... This brew was beneficial for cultivation, helping to calm the mind and improve efficiency.
Especially for modern people with relatively complex thoughts, it was very helpful.
“Dean Zheng, you really startled us.”
Perhaps due to the tea, many of Team Leader Yang’s thoughts dissipated, and she spoke plainly without beating around the bush.
“Startled?” Zheng Fa looked a bit puzzled, “I’ve only made slight progress in my cultivation. How could that be startling?”
Team Leader Yang shot him a sideways glance but didn’t dare to meet his gaze. Instead, she turned to Tang Lingwu and the others, asking, “Didn’t you all feel... that Dean Zheng has changed?”
The others hadn’t spoken yet.
Zheng Fa asked again, “Changed how?”
“Changed to... an unreachable height. Right now, looking at you, Dean, it feels like you’re within reach, yet also a thousand miles away.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but ponder:
After reaching the Golden Elixir stage, he had indeed felt some changes, but when interacting with Senior Sister Zhang and the others, they hadn’t seemed different.
Now that he thought about it, they must have gone through this phase as well, having anticipated his changes and finding them perfectly normal.
The other disciples of Jiu Shan Sect, constrained by his status, naturally wouldn’t dare to question it.
In modern times, it was Team Leader Yang who first voiced it.
He glanced at Old Bai and the others, who nodded slightly, seemingly in agreement with Team Leader Yang’s words—clearly, they shared the same sentiment.
Zheng Fa furrowed his brow lightly and asked, “You all feel I’ve changed too?”
This wasn’t him being overly anxious or complaining; rather, he had always harbored a slight wariness about the path of cultivation.
After all, both the Jiu You Mo Zu and Tian He Zun Zhe had mentioned that those who cultivated to the end might become unrecognizable.
He couldn’t afford to be complacent.
Old Bai spoke slowly, “Change is inevitable. If you don’t feel it, we can all see it clearly—you’ve gained... composure? Confidence? Or perhaps, indifference.”
Listening to this, Zheng Fa slowly nodded; in terms of mindset... it was indeed so.
“If you ask me, that’s not a bad thing.”
Seeing Zheng Fa’s brow still furrowed, Old Bai seemed to understand his concerns and his expression turned more serious than usual: “Change doesn’t mean you’re no longer you.”
“Those who are strong often have more vigor than the weak; isn’t that common?”
Cheng Yun seemed to recall something and suddenly recited, “Suddenly, the golden shackles break, and here I sever the jade locks. Ah! The tides of the Qiantang River come in, today I finally know I am me!”
Everyone turned to look at him, and he chuckled sheepishly, “I thought that line was really cool when I read ‘Water Margin’!”
Old Bai slapped his palm and sighed, “Exactly! What you’ve lost are merely mundane shackles. Who says those shackles define your true nature?”
A smile involuntarily appeared in Zheng Fa’s eyes as he poured Cheng Yun another cup of tea.
He also felt he had been overly worried: from Senior Sister Zhang and the others’ perspective, at least before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Team Leader Yang sighed—Cheng Yun had been sipping tea for half the time and had only said two sentences, yet they were perfectly timed.
It was clear that Zheng Fa was much happier than she was.
It was quite infuriating.
...
After all, Zheng Fa wasn’t a conventional cultivator... Research required discussions about money and costs.
“Dean Zheng, we’ve already surveyed the area behind the mountain. Building a particle collider within Hong Shan is entirely feasible,” Team Leader Yang said, “As for the money, you don’t need to worry about saving...”
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